1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fluid jet cutting system and method structured to maximize the cutting rate that can be achieved when cutting solid materials, such as stone type materials, without sacrificing the necessary precision and finish quality associated with the fluid cutting process, the system and method providing an effective and accurate determinant of cut quality which does not interfere with and/or hinder the normal cutting process and which provides a substantially continuous indication of cut quality as the cuts are being made, thereby permitting maximization of the movement rate that can achieve the desired quality.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a variety of industries wherein a solid material must be cut in a very detailed, precise, and often intricate pattern, the necessary cuts are often made by directing a high power, high pressure stream of fluid, preferably water with an abrasive additive such as garnet, into the surface of the solid material so as to achieve the appropriate cut. Naturally, many variables can come into play when making such a high precision fluid cut, and accordingly, conventional systems, while automated to a certain extent, still require a great degree of monitoring and estimation by an individual operator to ensure that a desired precision and quality cut is achieved and maintained through the entire cutting process of a particular solid material, and to ensure that malfunctions in the cutting process do not occur.
As can be appreciated, the solid materials, frequently stone, marble, granite, steel and other metals can tend to be rather expensive. As a result, many factors need to be considered to ensure that precision and a desired quality cut is maintained at all times throughout a particular cut, and such that an improper cut or degradation in quality in the middle of a cutting pattern will not result, thereby ruining an entire, elaborate item being cut. In particular, when cutting a solid material a variety of cutting grades are typically available depending upon the intended needs and use of the article being cut. For example, in elaborate and decorative inlay systems or for perimeter cuts, a certain higher degree of quality is desired to ensure that components fit together properly. Conversely, in some other applications a more rough, lower quality cut is all that is needed. Naturally, it is important to make sure that at least the minimum desired quality is maintained, however, cutting to excessive quality than what is needed does not add any benefit and merely increases the time it takes to complete the cut, the operating time of the machinery and the wear and tear on the machinery. Still, however, as the most important consideration is to ensure that at least the minimum quality is achieved, operators must err on the side of caution so as to avoid wasting the solid material, even if this means a longer, slower cutting process than is necessary.
Indeed, even with many increases in technology, the optimal movement or cutting rate to be utilized for a particular type of material and a particular quality cut is at best imprecise. Specifically, presently available charts and lists only provide general guidelines for the desired cutting rate to be used for a selected cut quality. These values are, however, only guidelines that can vary greatly depending on a variety of factors present within the cutting process. For example, the type of cut, the type of material and even the quality of certain portions of a single slab or of different batches of the same material can vary, thereby altering the quality that is achieved throughout the cutting process using only those general guidelines. As such, there remains a need for a system and method which precisely ensures the desired cut quality.
In addition to the difficulties associated with maintaining a precise, desired cut quality at all times throughout a particular cut, a further drawback associated with present fluid cutting technologies relates to the need for constant monitoring of the system. In particular, the nozzles utilized in such systems often have a limited life, and based upon the precision and close proximity between the nozzle and the solid material, malfunctions can sometimes occur which interfere with or interrupt the cutting process. When such a malfunction occurs, the cut quality is either very poor so as to ruin the material, or more commonly, the fluid stream does not actually penetrate and cut through the solid material, thereby resulting in potential damage to the material and to the machinery, and resulting in excessive waste of raw materials and machine operating life. Accordingly, a great deal of monitoring and observation of the entire cutting process by employees and supervisors must generally be maintained at all times with existing systems. This can be a significant limitation if full automation of a facility is required, as unsupervised operation of the system is typically not acceptable since continued operation of the system after a severe malfunction can have devastating consequences.
For the preceding reasons, it would be highly beneficial to provide a system and method which continuously functions to ensure that a cut of a desired quality is being made, thereby maximizing the cutting rate that can be achieved by eliminating the requirement to move overly slowly causing a quality higher than need to be achieved. It would also be beneficial to provide a system that can allow extended and substantially continuous cutting operation of fluid jet cutting devices, thereby increasing the volume of solid materials which can be properly cut and shaped within a given time period. Further, such a system should preferably be substantially precise and free from malfunction, without requiring constant manual operation and/or manual observation should a malfunction occur. Another important feature that would be beneficial is to provide such an improved system for use in conjunction with existing cutting devices, as the cutting devices themselves can tend to be rather expensive, and replacement and/or re-tooling is not typically practical, even if the capacity of the machine can be significantly increased. As such, an improved system should work with little and/or minor modification to existing cutting systems, while still providing the necessary precision for substantially full automation.